Telephones Rang in Favor of Bitadze
那些為了Goga Bitadze而響起的電話聲
Source: https://www.nba.com/pacers/news/telephones-rang-favor-bitadze
Some of the social media and professional media criticism has been harsh,
while most of the national draft analysis has been mildly positive. But to
Kevin Pritchard's way of thinking, the most meaningful feedback regarding his
draft decision on Thursday was the jangling telephones.
儘管一些社群與媒體上的批評有些嚴厲，但多數的全國性選秀分析對於溜馬的選秀結果普
遍抱持著正面的評價。不過對於Kevin Pritchard來說，這次選秀結果最有意義的回饋就
是在確認了選秀人選後那些紛紛響起的電話聲。
Moments after it was announced the Pacers had dedicated their 18th overall
selection in the NBA draft in Goga Bitadze, the phones in their war room
began clamoring for attention. Teams were calling, wanting to investigate the
possibility of acquiring the 6-11 center from the Republic of Georgia.
溜馬正式公佈#18的人選是Goga Bitadze的不久之後，在會議室中響起的眾多電話十分地
引人注目。許多球隊打了電話來探詢交易這位6' 11"的喬治亞中鋒的可能性。
"You know how we know it's a good pick?" Pritchard asked on Friday, when
Bitadze was introduced at a press conference in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
「你知道我們如何得知這是一個好的選擇嗎？」週五在Bankers Life Fieldhouse為了
Goga Bitadze所舉行的媒體會議上，KP如此問了與會的媒體們。
"The phone rings the second you pick him. I've never had it ringing like I
had it yesterday. Maybe some of the ex-teams I've been with were pretty hotly
in pursuit. Not a little bit, but hotly in pursuit. I've never seen it like
that."
「昨天從我們確定選下他的那一秒起所打來的電話是我看過最誇張的。一些我曾經待過的
其他球隊也做了非常熱切的詢問，我從來沒見過這樣的情景。」
One of Pritchard's former employers, San Antonio, drafted one spot behind the
Pacers, and had worked out Bitadze. Another, Portland, drafted 25th.
Pritchard said there were others as well.
Pritchard曾經的雇主，聖安東尼奧馬刺隊，就在溜馬的後一個順位，有試訓過Bitadze。
另一個球隊則是25順位的波特蘭拓荒者隊，Pritchard說還有其他隊伍也有打來。
"Let's just say more than three or four teams were getting aggressive to get
him," he said.
「有3、4支以上的球隊非常激進的想要把他(Bitadze)弄到手。」
The Pacers had no expectation of landing Bitadze before the draft began,
according to Pritchard and coach Nate McMillan. He didn't appear on their
ranking of realistic prospects because they thought he would be taken by one
of the lottery teams. But as the evening proceeded and his name wasn't
called, their interest perked up.
根據Pritchard和總教練Nate McMillan的說法，溜馬隊在選秀前並沒有預期有機會能拿到
Bitadze。他被前面的樂透球隊帶走的機會很大所以溜馬並沒有把他列為一個實際的選項，
但是隨著時間過去而Goga還在待選清單中時，這引起了溜馬管理層的興趣。
Pritchard said he was considering making a deal to move up a few spots to get
his man, but when Bitadze fell past Boston at 14 and Detroit at 15, he was
confident of being able to snag the 19-year-old center at 18. If the reaction
in the outside world was mixed, the feedback within the front office was
consistent.
Pritchard說他本來在考慮進行交易來往上幾個順位去弄到他想要的人選，但是當14順位的
賽爾提克不選、15順位的活塞也沒選Bitadze時，他就有信心可以在18順位拿到這位19歲
中鋒。儘管外界的反應有些混亂，但是FO內部的想法是一致的。
譯按：該不會本來打算硬換Romeo吧！？
"Very rarely do you get to a point where the scouts and the consultants and
Larry (Bird) and Donnie (Walsh) agree on anything," Pritchard said.
「非常罕見的，我們的球探們、顧問們、Larry Bird和Donnie Walsh的意見完全一致。」
"It was the easiest decision I've ever made in the draft. There was more
consensus than I've ever seen."
「這是我在選秀中所做過最簡單的決定，是我見過最有共識的一次。」
Negative reaction to the selection of Bitadze related to the fact the Pacers
already have a pair of young and established 6-foot-11 players in Myles
Turner and Domantas Sabonis. With a widespread desire for Sabonis to receive
more playing time, why add a third similar player?
外界對於選擇Bitadze的負評源自於溜馬陣中已經有了兩位傑出長人，Myles Turner和
Domantas Sabonis。當已經確定會給Sabonis更多上場時間的時候，為什麼還要再補上
第三位類似的球員？
Pritchard swatted that one away quickly. Turner and Sabonis both have shown
signs of being able to play either center or power forward. Bitadze is
expected to back up either one of them at center. And if it turns out Turner
and Sabonis can play together more often next season, perhaps even as
starters, then the need for a supplement grows.
Pritchard快速地對此觀點進行了回擊：Turner和Sabonis都展現了可以擔任中鋒或大前鋒
的能力，Bitadze預計會與他們任一人搭配並負責中鋒的位置。而且如果Turner和Sabonis
要以先發組合的方式在下一季共同上場更多時間的話，會有增加替補人手的需要。
Ninety-six combined minutes are available at power forward and center, so it
doesn't seem likely Bitadze will be left out of the rotation. And however it
plays out, Pritchard emphasized he's not looking to move any of the three big
men anytime soon.
大前鋒與中鋒合起來有96分鐘的上場時間，而Bitadze不太可能會在輪替名單之外。不論
結果如何，Pritchard強調了他最近並不打算移出三位長人中的任何一位。
"Can all three of these guys exist?" Pritchard said. "There's no doubt. I'm
not in the business of making a pick to move that guy. I want him as a Pacer
and I want to see how he turns out.
「他們三個能夠一起共存嗎？這是毫無疑問的。我希望Goga能夠成為一個溜馬人，我想看
他能夠如何成長。」
"I love the fact that Domas has grown up a Pacer, except for one year (in
Oklahoma City). Myles has grown up a Pacer and has become a really good
player. And they're both 23. I want this kid to be a Pacer. I did not pick
him to gather an asset."
「我非常榮幸能夠讓Domas除了第一年在雷霆以外，都能以溜馬人的身份成長；Myles一直
以來都是溜馬人，而且也成為了很棒的球員，他們都才23歲而已。我想讓這孩子(Goga)
也成為溜馬人，我並不是把他選來當成資產的。」
Coach Nate McMillan, meanwhile, is pondering ways to keep them all involved.
與此同時，教練Nate McMillan正在不斷的思考該如何使用這三位球員。
"I've been thinking about it all night long, and will continue to think about
it throughout the summer," he said.
Nate：「我已經想這件事想了一整個晚上了，而且會繼續想一整個夏天。」
For Pritchard, it boiled down to choosing for talent rather than need. With
so many roster spots to fill once the free agency signing period begins in
July, the Pacers weren't in a position to focus on need on draft night. It's
too early to know their greatest needs. Besides, Pritchard has learned some
hard lessons from some of his past mistakes.
對於Pritchard來說，選擇天賦比選擇位置更重要。儘管在輪值名單上有許多需要在7月開
市後補上的空缺，溜馬並不打算在選秀夜去滿足這些需求，因為現在就想弄清楚最迫切的
需求的話言之過早。除此之外，Pritchard已經從他過去的錯誤中學到教訓。
"If you get caught up in, 'I've got to get a position there,' you can make a
lot of mistakes," he said. "Free agency is where you can plug some holes."
「如果你陷入了『啊我這裡有個缺需要補』的迷思時，你會犯下很多錯誤；自由市場才是
你該拿來補洞的地方。」
Given the acquisition of another big man, Pritchard and McMillan say they're
willing to buck the NBA trend of going small and leaning mostly heavily on
the 3-point shot for offense.
又拿下了一位長人以後，Pritchard和McMillan說他們樂意去反抗目前NBA潮流的小球風格
以及極度倚重三分投射的進攻方式。
Finding shooters will be a primary goal in free agency, but they believe they
can win with two big men on the court at the same time and posing matchup
problems for opponents.
找到射手會是FA的一大目標，但是他們相信可以靠著雙塔去給對手製造對位上的難題。
"Everybody thinks it's all about going small; I'm not sure that's the way,"
Pritchard said. "I want somebody who plays hard and protects the rim, and
Goga does that."
Pritchard：「所有人都想著就是該打小球，但我並不這麼認為；我想要有打得強硬而且能
護框的人手，Goga就是這樣的球員。」
"We're going to play to our strengths," McMillan said. "If that's two bigs
out there on the floor and pounding inside, we'll take advantage of that.
McMillan：「我們會善用我們的長處去打球；如果我們場上有兩位能夠強打內線的長人，
就會靠著這點去取得優勢。」
"Some teams are not cut out (to shoot a lot of 3-pointers). Last night it
changed for us."
「有些球隊並不會一直傳導到外線投一堆三分，昨晚這件事改變了我們。」
譯按：這句話是亂翻的，求高手幫助
Bitadze has an impressive personal story worth telling, and one that will be
told in the days ahead. He grew up in Georgia when it was occupied for a
short time by Russia, amid poverty. Basketball became a refuge, and he took
to it quickly. He turned professional the summer he turned 16 and had to grow
up quickly away from his close-knit family.
Bitadze有個令人印象深刻、值得一提的成長背景：他在喬治亞，這個一度被俄羅斯所佔據
的國家長大，生活在貧窮之中。籃球成為了他的避難所，而他很快的打出了名堂。在他滿
16歲的那個夏天，Bitadze開始了他的職業生涯，遠離了他親近的家庭並且快速成長。
He watched NBA highlights when he could, and took particular notice of the
Pacers two years ago, when they lost to Cleveland in the first round of the
playoffs. Asked by Pritchard what he knew of the franchise when they had
lunch before Thursday's press conference, Bitadze brought up the lack of a
goaltending call against LeBron James late in Game 5 that assisted the
Cavaliers' victory.
他盡其所能的去看NBA的Highlight，在兩年前開始注意到了溜馬，就在那個輸給騎士隊的
第一輪季後賽。在週四媒體會面前的午餐間，Pritchard問了他是否知道溜馬的任何事，
而Bitadze想到的就是那個讓騎士拿下G5的Goal tending。
"They caught my eye because they were playing like one team; like a family,"
Bitadze said of the Pacers. "I could see that in their games they were
playing really tough and were out there competing and having fun. It was
great series and it was really disappointing, because refs I think made bad
call. It was heartbreaking.
Bitadze：「他們(溜馬)引起了我的注意因為他們打得很像一支球隊、一個家庭；我可以從
比賽中看到他們打得十分強悍、充滿競爭並且從比賽中獲得樂趣。那是一個很棒的系列賽
但是結果令人失望，因為裁判一堆亂吹，這讓人心碎。」
"I watch a lot of NBA but they caught my eye, definitely."
「我看了很多NBA比賽，而這絕對吸引了我的目光。」
Bitadze proved his background knowledge of the Pacers at the end of the press
conference, when forward Alize Johnson, who spent most of last season playing
for the Fort Wayne affiliate in the G League, grabbed a microphone while
seated in the front row.
Bitadze在媒體會面的結尾時證明了他對溜馬的背景有所認識；上一季大多數時間在溜馬的
G League，Fort Wayne出賽的Alize Johnson坐在第一排拿了麥克風對他提問：
"Have you heard anything about Alize Johnson?" he asked, smiling.
「你知道任何關於Alize Johnson的事情嗎？」他笑著問道。
Bitadze played into it.
Bitadze抓住機會開了點玩笑。
"Actually, yeah, he's a legend in (Indianapolis), EuroLeague also," he said.
"Everywhere you go you see his jersey over there."
Goga：「事實上呢... 當然，他是個(印第安納)傳奇，也是EuroLeague的傳奇，你去的每
個地方都能看到他的球衣。」
譯按：此處為記者筆誤，Goga說的是ABA League(Goga打的聯賽)而非印第安納
Should the Pacers' trend-bucking move pay off, sightings of Bitadze Pacers
jerseys will become common, too.
如果溜馬對抗聯盟潮流的嘗試能夠獲得成功，想必Bitadze的球衣真的會變得到處都是吧！